That's Mine!

PreS-K—A frog claims that an egg he finds in the jungle is his. Along comes a snake, "…ssssmine," he says. One after the other, animals of increasing size lay claim to the egg, but the eagle fights back when the lizard wrestles it away. During their tussle, the egg goes airborne and lands on an elephant's head, giving him a painful lump. When he enquires as to the owner of the object, the blame goes back down through the chain of animals. The elephant graciously returns the egg to the gleeful frog, much to the consternation of the others. And then a crocodile hatches. "Mine!" she cries, and the frog is on the run. The illustrations are the best part of this book. Everything is outlined in a thin black line, the animals have expressive faces, and the background is mainly white space with a bit of ground and greenery. The pictures make the book look attractive to young children, as does the repetition of "mine," but the ending can be alarming if one knows that crocodiles eat frogs.—Ieva Bates, Ann Arbor District Library, MI